CHICAGO, Illinois—The Alzheimer’s Association Center for Dementia Respite Innovation (CDRI) announced that it is awarding more than $4 million in grants to 21 community-based service providers to increase the availability of quality dementia-specific respite care. The CDRI is administered through a partnership of the Alzheimer’s Association, University of Minnesota School of Public Health and USAging.

ST. LOUIS, Missouri—EmpowerMe Wellness announced it has been selected by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to participate in a new Medicare alternative payment model designed to support people living with dementia and their caregivers.

STATESVILLE, North—Iredell Home Health, a part of Iredell Health System, achieved accreditation through the Accreditation Commission for Health Care (ACHC).

Accreditation is a process through which health care organizations demonstrate compliance with national standards. Iredell said its accreditation by ACHC reflects its dedication and commitment to meeting standards that facilitate a higher level of performance and patient care.

TOLEDO, Ohio—Ankita Singh, 42, formerly of Maumee, Ohio, was sentenced to 26 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Jack Zouhary, for her role in a durable medical equipment (DME) scheme that defrauded the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicare Program. She was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $4,470,931.02, serve two years of supervised release and pay a special assessment fee of $600.

LOS ANGELES, California—The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) has been selected by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to participate in a new Medicare alternative payment model designed to support people living with dementia and their caregivers.

OCEANSIDE, California—Honest Medical, an e-commerce site offering health care products, has partnered with Happen Ventures to donate thousands of returned, reusable health products to nonprofits serving those in need. Happen Ventures provides reuse services that support environmental sustainability and aims to foster economic and social benefits. The most recent donation was to Hope Esperanza, a nonprofit organization located in North Platte, Nebraska.

RICHMOND, Virginia—Owens & Minor, Inc. (Owens & Minor), announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Rotech Healthcare Holdings, Inc. (Rotech), a privately held home-based care business headquartered in Orlando, Florida, for $1.36 billion in cash.

NEW YORK—Special Touch Home Care (STHC or the company), a provider of home health services dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for New Yorkers within the comfort of their own homes, announced that it has reached more than 150,000 patients in the year of its 40th anniversary.

WASHINGTON—Gentiva, successor to Kindred at Home, has agreed to pay $19.428 million to resolve allegations that Kindred at Home and related entities (Kindred) knowingly submitted false claims and knowingly retained overpayments for hospice services provided to patients who were ineligible to receive hospice benefits under various federal health care programs.

HONOLULU—Kaiser Permanente in Hawaii announced the launch of its Kaiser Permanente Home Health agency on Hawaii Island. The agency will bring nursing and physical therapy to homebound members on Hawaii Island.